Born to be a coach [soccer]

Although Sunderland drew Liverpool as their opponent in the FA Cup, Sunderland fans said: Regardless of any opponent in the FA Cup, Sunderland has never been afraid. In 1973, Sunderland was a team in England’s second tier, advancing all the way to the final and finally winning the FA Cup—that’s a story that the older generation has talked about for many years, and it’s still going on now. Bring it up every now and then.

For clubs, another benefit is also evident.The ticket revenue of the FA Cup is divided equally between the two clubs. The opponent is a giant like Liverpool, which will greatly increase the attendance of the game, and the ticket revenue will be very considerable.The only pity is that this time Sunderland got the home game.If it is an away game, Sunderland fans can also go to Anfield for a good tour.

For this reason, some fans gave Anton an idea: Sunderland had better draw at home, and then beat Liverpool away in the rematch, so that the fans would be happy.

Anton smiled wryly after hearing this: The opponent is the Premier League giants Liverpool!Is it that a Championship team like Sunderland draws when they want to draw, and wins when they want to win?He can only tactfully promise the fans: the whole team will definitely work hard for victory.

Such polite rhetoric is equivalent to saying nothing, and was even ridiculed by assistant coach Russell as "too official".For this reason, the staff of the team quietly nicknamed him "Guan Lin", but this nickname has not been spread around, and Anton himself does not know it.

On the afternoon of December 12, the team luxuriously gave all players and staff a half-day off in the afternoon.Although the upcoming New Year on January 31st is a public holiday, the team will be very busy preparing for the FA Cup match on January 1nd and signing new players.

Jo's mother invited Anton to her home in the evening to have dinner with her family to celebrate the arrival of 2010.Knowing that she was far away from her family and living alone in Sunderland, Anton gratefully agreed.But before that, Anton said that he still had to use this afternoon to get a big deal done—he had to quickly determine his residence in Sunderland, and he couldn't always live in Hilton's guest room.

The real estate agent that Martin recommended to Anton was Roy Schiller, who was also a Sunderland fan. After seeing Anton, he patted his chest and assured Anton that he would definitely help Anton bargain with the landlord and try to negotiate a good price. .

But after hearing about Anton's request, Roy was a bit embarrassed: Anton hoped to rent two side-by-side villas (semi-detached) that were close together at the same time, and hoped that the location of the villas would be within a short distance from the Stadium of Light and the Academy of Light. Not too far, the house is best located deep in a quiet neighborhood with friendly neighbors.The most important point is that the landlord allows himself to make some structural modifications inside the house.

Everything else is fine, even if it's a remodel, as long as Anton promises to restore the house to its original state before moving out, it's not a big problem.But Roy really didn't understand: Why did Anton build two side-by-side villas connected together, can't he just rent a whole detached house?

But Anton was insistent.Roy can only do his best to screen out all the houses that meet Anton's requirements.In the end, there was only one place that met all of Anton's conditions.

"Mr. Lin, the landlord originally wanted to invest in commercial real estate, so he bought two side-by-side villas. However, Sunderland's economy has been stagnant in the past two years, and these two houses have not been rented out for the time being. The landlord said However, if you are willing to rent together, he is willing to provide you with a preferential rental price."

"The location is very good, just what I want." Anton looked around. The two townhouses in front of him are just at the end of a small road, very far away from the main road outside the community. The vehicles and people coming in You have to go through all the neighbors before you come to Anton's house.

"I live near here, and the neighbors here are very nice, really!" Roy said sincerely.

"Great!" Anton felt that he could make a decision.

"But there is one thing I want to make clear to you. This house is a brick-concrete structure, but it was built a long time ago. In winter, there is air leakage, so it may be... colder. Your heating bill may be higher." While speaking, Roy peeked at Anton's face, fearing that his "honesty" would scare away Anton, a client.

Who knew that Anton smiled and clapped his hands together: "Great, I'm just looking for a house with air leaks everywhere! This is it."

Roy: ...

A gust of cold wind blew by, and this honesty-based real estate agent suddenly became messy in the wind.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Anton arrived on time at the home of Joyce Rohm, the team's chef and nutritionist.He sent Joyce a bouquet of flowers, and brought wine and chocolates as presents for the Romms.

Mother Qiao was very happy, dressed in a fancy dress, holding flowers, and proudly said to her husband Tom: "Look, I have such a handsome young man sending flowers. 2009 really has a perfect ending."

She asked Anton again if he had found the house, and Anton replied that it was on Macswood Road.Qiao's mother nodded again and again: "It's a nice neighborhood, and the residents are all authentic Sunderlanders, but the houses are a bit old."

"Hurry up, go into the kitchen! Men cook in Roma's house!" Mother Qiao hung up Anton's coat and threw him an apron, "I knew you were Italian and Chinese. Bloodline. There is no reason that cooking is not delicious, Tom has been looking forward to and looking forward to, just looking forward to you coming to help him!"

Anton never expected that Qiao's mother, as the team's chef and nutritionist, would not cook at all at home, but would be responsible for greeting guests and "beautiful".Qiao's mother saw through Anton's thoughts at a glance, and immediately said angrily: "It's so hard to go to work, of course I have to stay away from my own job when I go home. Besides, Tom's cooking skills also need to be practiced, so don't let him do it. How?"

Knowing that Roma's family didn't regard him as an outsider at all, Anton put on an apron without hesitation and went to Roma's kitchen.Sure enough, as Joe’s mother said, men cook in the Roma family. Joyce’s husband Tom, youngest son Simon, and six-year-old grandson Robert are all crowded in the kitchen. Can't turn it on at all.

Joe's mother hurriedly commanded: "Tom, you help Anton. Simon, you take Robert out, and don't hinder our head coach from cooking——Good Rob, you see we have invited the head coach of the team. How long do you want?" How about playing in Anton's team when you grow up?"

The children clapped their hands and applauded, and Anton had to verbally agree to "sign" the young player.

I have to say that under the "stocking" of Joe's mother, Tom really cooks well.In order to welcome Anton to their dinner this time, Tom boiled a big pot of bolognese, and rolled out fresh fettuccine for Bolognese noodles.In addition, he also reserved a lot of space for Anton to play - he prepared a lot of ingredients and seasonings for Chinese dishes.

Anton made three dishes and one soup in one go using materials from Roma's kitchen: mapo tofu, black pepper beef cubes, boiled sea greens and tomato egg drop soup.Tom cooperated very well with him, which shows that this home chef also cooks some Chinese food from time to time, and is a generalist in the kitchen.

Tom occasionally sighs with emotion: "Anton, to be honest, I envy you all, but I don't have many opportunities to eat meals cooked by my wife!"

Anton laughed: "Next time I will invite you to visit Guangming College, and I will treat you to the cafeteria by the way!"

Tom was overjoyed: "That's a good relationship!" He still didn't forget to sneak a look at Qiao's mother, and Qiao's mother would give him a glare, and Tom quickly retracted his head and stuck out his tongue secretly.Anton was delighted to see it, but the children of the Roma family were not surprised. Obviously, this couple has always been like this.

When the food was served, the Roma family embraced Anton on the table.Mother Qiao opened a bottle of champagne and told Anton, "Simon doesn't drink alcohol. Let him drive you back to the hotel. It's the first time you're in Sunderland for the New Year. Don't be polite to us."

The host and guest enjoyed themselves for a while, and Anton spent an unforgettable night at Roma's house.Before midnight, Simon drove Anton back to Hilton and took a taxi back to Rom's house.

So, when the New Year's bell rang in 2010, Anton was on the balcony, happily watching the fireworks on the Tyne River, and sending greetings to his family on the phone.

Just at this moment, the screensavers of greenery and football on the computer screen in his room suddenly disappeared, replaced by a line of greetings.

"To A: Happy New Year!"

Signed: "B".

The greeting flashed for about 30 seconds before disappearing from the screen.

The author has something to say: I can see some new players tomorrow!